


Buzzfeed Unsolved: The Violent Crimes and Multiple Deaths of the Winchester Brothers

by BleedingInk



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Supernatural
Genre: Based On Buzzfeed Unsolved, Buzzfeed Unsolved Postmortem, Crack, Gen, Shane Madej is a demon, Wild Winchester theories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 02:45:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19286515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingInk/pseuds/BleedingInk
Summary: A look into the lives and crimes of two of the most notorious criminals in recent years.





	Buzzfeed Unsolved: The Violent Crimes and Multiple Deaths of the Winchester Brothers

**Ryan** : This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved, we investigate the crimes and deaths of the infamous brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester.

 **Shane, an actual demon** : *sighs deeply*

_On November 2nd, 1983, on the small town of Lawrence, Kansas, the Winchester family home caught fire, claiming the life of Mary Winchester. Her husband John and sons Dean, aged 4, and Sam, a six months old baby, survived, but were left homeless._

_Neighbors and family members lost contact with them immediately after. John, a Vietnam war army vet, took his sons on the road on his 1967 Chevrolet Impala and records show he bounced from town to town, performing small con jobs and credit card scams in order to survive._

_Despite their unusual upbringing, Sam managed to graduate from high school and earned a full ride scholarship to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. He was well-regarded among his peers, with one former classmate stating, quote: “He just a very nice guy. He didn’t like speaking about his past and we were under the impression he wasn’t on speaking terms with his father, but other than that, he was just like anyone else.” End quote._

_Sam planned to pursue a career as a lawyer when tragedy struck again. On November 2nd, 2005, the apartment he shared with his girlfriend, Jessica Moore, caught fire, claiming Jessica’s life._

**Ryan** : So already we have some interesting parallels here. They both died on the same date, they both died in a fire...

 **Shane, shaking** : Unusual indeed.

_Shortly after her funeral, Sam left California, allegedly to go on a road trip with his older brother Dean. At that point, he was still keeping contact with his friends and was reportedly planning on coming back to finish his education. This never came to happen._

_Dean Winchester had followed in on his father's footsteps and was a small time scammer, but he had mostly managed to keep out of trouble with the law. That was until October of the same year, when the brothers travelled to St. Louis, Missouri. A friend of Sam, Rebecca Warren, had invited them to come over._

_Almost at the same time, there was a string of assaults and murders in the town, all following the same M. O.: women who were home alone were tied to chairs and brutally beaten to death._ _Though initially their significant others were suspects, the police soon started a search for Dean Winchester, believing him to be the author of the murders. They arrived to this conclusion after Dean was spotted fleeing one of the murder scenes._

 **Shane** : So wait, they actually saw him fleeing the scene?

 **Ryan** : This was after the murder. The working theory is that he returned to retrieve some incriminating evidence.

 **Shane** : These guys have no finesse.

 **Ryan** : What?

 **Shane** : What?

_The following night, a neighbor called in a disturbance at the Warren house. When police arrived, they found Rebecca, tied and bloodied. Dean Winchester was once again spotted fleeing the scene, but he apparently returned once again to finish the job._

_This is where reports get confusing: initially, Rebecca testified that she shot Dean Winchester in self-defense and that he didn't know where Sam had gone afterwards. The police matched Dean's DNA to the other murders and the cases were considered closed..._

_... until Sam and a very much alive Dean turned up again in Baltimore, Maryland, in November 2006._

**Shane, feigning surprise** : So wait, she didn't kill him?

 **Ryan** : The plot thickens!

_The brothers had been arrested on breaking and entering charges on the house of the recently deceased lawyer Tony Giles. His wife Karen was found dead at the scene as well when Sam was arrested and he was initially suspected of her murder. Though the brothers claimed to be family friends of the Giles, no record was found that indicates this to be true._

_It was soon revealed that the Winchesters had nothing to do with the Giles murders. They had been killed by Peter Sheridan, a dirty cop for whom Tony Giles had been laundering drug money. If he or the Giles had a connection with the Winchesters, there was never any evidence of it found._

_In the meantime, Sam and Dean escaped custody while they were being transported to St. Louis to answer for the murder charges against Dean._

**Shane, with a hint of admiration** : How many times can they escape?

 **Ryan** : This isn't the last time that they're going to fake their deaths to get away with their crimes, let me tell you.

 **Shane** : Truly, some squirrely boys.

 **Ryan** : *wheezes*

_Death and chaos seemed to fall the Winchester wherever they went..._

**Shane, staring into the camera, in a monotone voice** : Death and chaos.

 **Ryan** : I mean, they are definitely very chaotic. There seems to be no motivation behind these crimes, except to cause confusion. But it gets weird.

 **Shane** : Oh, _now_ it gets weird?

 **Ryan** : Well, weirder.

_... they were reportedly seen all over the Midwest impersonating agents of the law, robbing banks, terrorizing residents and breaking into cemeteries to desecrate random graves._

_The FBI investigator in charge of the Winchesters' case, Agent Victor Henriksen, said at the time, quote: “We believe these men to be extremely dangerous, armed and delusional. We advise anybody who spots them to not engage and contact us immediately”. End quote._

_It was at this time that investigators started to believe that the brothers' crime spree was motivated by a religious folié-a-deux._

**Shane** : Imagine that.

 **Ryan** : It’s the grave desecration that really gets me. There was definitely some… I’m gonna say occultist tendencies going on with them.

 **Shane, condescending** : Some occult shit, for sure.

_On April, 2007, the Winchesters were captured at Museum of Anthropology in Little Rock, Arkansas, which they were trying to rob. They were briefly held at the Green River County Detention Center, but once again managed to escape after assaulting a prison guard._

_It would appear that Agent Henriksen and his team were out of luck, but on February 21st, 2008, an anonymous tip gave away the Winchesters' location at the small town of Monument, Colorado, where they were finally captured and taken into custody._

_Several strange events followed: the chopper set to transport the Winchesters out of state to a more secure facility, crash and exploded, killing all the agents that were inside. At the same time, the town suffered a sudden blackout and several of the residents later reported not remembering the events of that night in question. One of the residents recalls, quote: “I was getting ready to go to bed, but for some reason I woke up at the sheriff's office. I don't remember leaving my house or why I would go there. It was as if I was not myself.”_

**Ryan** : This is very creepy, because this reportedly happen to like two dozen people around the town.

 **Shane, who totally knows it was a massive demon possession** : Peculiar.

 **Ryan** : That's all you have to say, peculiar?

 **Shane** : It is very peculiar.

_Earlier the following morning, the county sheriff's office was destroyed, apparently after the rupture of a gas main. Three FBI Agents, including Agent Henriksen, the sheriff, his deputy and his secretary were all killed in the explosion. Initial reports claimed that the two prisoners in custody had been killed as well. It appeared that the Winchesters reign of terror had come to an end."_

**Shane, sighing:** If only.

 **Ryan** : What?

 **Shane** : What?

_On October 28th, 2011, after three years of radio silence..._

**Shane** : Four.

 **Ryan** : What?

 **Shane** : It was four years later.

 **Ryan** : ... no, there were three years between 2008 and 2011.

 **Shane** : You sure?

 **Ryan** : Yeah, I'm pretty sure about that!

 **Shane** : Okay. I’m just double-checking.

_... the First Bank of Jericho, California, was the subject of an armed robbery where all the hostages were led inside the vault and killed in cold blood. The security cameras showed two men who greatly resembled the Winchester brothers were the authors of the massacre._

**Shane** : The squirrely boys are back!

 **Ryan** : You know, it's weird that you're so excited to hear about all these people they senselessly killed.

 **Shane** : I'm not excited, I'm just... impressed that they managed to come back from the dead like that-

_This hit was quickly followed by a robbery at a convenience store in Black Water Ridge, Colorado, and another bank in Manitoc, Winsconsin, all with several casualties. The violence spree culminated in a mass shooting at a diner in St. Louis, Missouri._

**Shane** : St. Louis again!

 **Ryan** : Yes, they sort of came full circle. Then again, they were known for returning to the scene of their crimes.

 **Shane** : Classic squirrely boys.

_The authors of these massacres were reported to be the Winchesters, after a gruesome video they forced one of the victims to film emerged online of them executing everyone in the diner. Sam Winchester appeared in the video, staring at the camera manically and exclaiming, quote: “I want the whole world to know what Sam and Dean Winchester are capable of!” The video ended with the brothers promising they would be headed to Iowa next._

_Authorities were alerted and they were quickly apprehended on Ankeny, Iowa and taken to the county sheriff's office. Despite this, they somehow managed to escape their cells and get their hands on some of the deputies' weapons. At that point, the sheriff shot them point blank in self-defense._

_The bodies were reportedly quickly autopsied and subsequently cremated. Once again, it appeared that the Winchester brothers had met a gruesome end. The investigation into their crimes is considered closed by the FBI, but there are still several questions that remain._

_With that said, let’s get into the theories._

_Our first theory is that Sam and Dean Winchesters were simply run-of-the-mill psychopaths, extremely intelligent and cruel. Their mental state exacerbated by their upbringing. John Winchester was reported to have been paranoid, suffering a breakdown after his wife’s death and losing himself in religious delusions he then passed unto his children. There are no records of John Winchesters ultimate fate, though people speculate perhaps his death is what sent the Winchesters over the edge and set them on their violent crime spree of 2011. Their announcement of where they were going to be was seen as an indication that they were looking to get caught, or perhaps to go out in a final blaze of glory._

**Ryan:** I mean, nothing against this theory, but this doesn’t explain a lot of things.

 **Shane** : It is possible that this is the case. After all, humans are capable of terrible things.

 **Ryan** : Yes, but… this requires these guys to be able to fake their deaths multiple times, with DNA evidence that convinced investigators. These people were professionals. You have to admit, as smart as they might have been, that is a little too much.

 **Shane, tiredly:** Alright. So what’s the next theory? And please don’t say…

_Our second theory is more supernatural in kind: that some of the occult rituals that the Winchesters performed granted them the powers to become immortal._

**Shane:** Are you serious right now?

 **Ryan** : That’s one of the most popular theories out there. Hey, don’t blame me, I’m just… reporting what the people say.

 **Shane, barely able to contain his laughter** : Unbelievable…

_There have been some petitions to exhume the presumed body of Dean Winchester buried in St. Louis to compare the DNA, but it has been denied each and every time. Conspiracy bloggers speculate on the fact that this supposed grave is empty and this was why the bodies were cremated the second time they’re said to have died in police custody, in Iowa._

_It is worth noting that the Ankeny sheriff who pulled the trigger on the Winchesters and the coroner who performed the autopsy were father and daughter and that soon after giving their report to the FBI agents in charge of the case, they both vanished without a trace. The investigation into their disappearance is still open, though some speculate that they might have been put into the witness protection program._

**Shane:** Okay. I will admit, that is suspicious.

 **Ryan** : Only suspicious?

 **Shane** : Extremely suspicious. It’s not like something could have just swallow them whole, right?

 **Ryan** : That’s not how the expression goes!

_This theory posits that despite not being any sightings of the brothers since 2011, we have not yet seen the last of them._

**Ryan** : Not a comforting thought.

 **Shane, shuddering** : Not at all.

_Our third theory is that Sam and Dean Winchester have been unfairly mischaracterized and blamed for crimes they did not commit. Strangely enough, one of the people who has gone on record to defend the brothers has been Rebecca Warren, Dean’s St. Louis surviving victim. She has said, quote: “Sam and Dean Winchester are good men. They have helped more people than they have harmed.” End quote. When asked to elaborate, she has repeatedly refused to do so._

_According to this theory, the Winchesters, who were merely con artists and not murderers, truly died in 2008 and the men who carried out the massacres in 2011 were not them, but two completely different persons impersonating them. How did these doppelgängers managed to copy their looks closely enough to convince the FBI that they were, in fact, the brothers, is anyone’s guess, but since there is no DNA from the bodies to make a comparison, it is impossible to either prove or disprove this theory._

**Shane:** I feel like this is a case where perhaps they should not have been so quick to burn the bodies?

 **Ryan:** Well, if you’re dealing with a couple of guys that are capable of coming back from the dead like a freaking zombie, perhaps you want to get rid of them as soon as possible?

 **Shane** : Fair enough. They are very squirrely boys, after all.

_Regardless, the mystery of how, or if, Sam and Dean Winchester repeatedly faked their deaths to escape justice will remain… unsolved._

 

* * *

 

 **Ryan** : Hello, and welcome to another edition of Buzzfeed Unsolved Postmortem, a show where we answer your most pressing questions about the most recent episode, which was about the Winchester brothers. All the questions we’re answering today came from you guys via our Buzzfeed Unsolved Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the video itself.

 **Shane, bitterly** : A lot of… Winchester fans in the comments this week.

 **Ryan** : Yeah, that surprised me too. Like, it seems a lot of these aren’t so much questions as “A friend of a friend swears to have met them and they actually help him with a problem he was having”. Kinda… very vague anecdotes, but a lot of people seem to agree that perhaps they were innocent or impersonated.

 **Shane** : Doesn’t change the fact these guys were probably mass murderers.

 **Ryan:** I think the fact that they managed to escape authorities repeatedly captured the public’s imagination a bit, maybe.

 **Shane** : Still mass murderers, though.

 **Ryan** : Weren’t you calling them squirrelly boys and fanboying a bit about them?

 **Shane** : Let’s get into the questions.

 **Ryan** : This comes from the video itself, from BabyLover67. They say: “First time commenting, but you guys didn’t mention the robbery and hostage situation in City Bank of Milwakee, where the brothers escaped by impersonating members of the SWAT team that was sent to capture them. I think this was one of the most notorious Winchester escapes.”

 **Shane** : Well, there several of them.

 **Ryan** : That’s true, there was a long list of incidents that the Winchesters were involved in that we didn’t get to mention for lack of time. They were very active between 2005 and 2008, which is why so many people believe that the men in 2011 weren’t really them.

 **Shane** : They always seem to be up to something, those Winchesters.

 **Ryan** : What?

 **Shane** : What? Oh, they left another comment. “By the way, I’m a big fan of your Supernatural series. It always gives me and my brother ideas for places to visit in our next road trip.”

**Ryan:**

**Shane:**

**Ryan** : Well, that does it for this episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved Postmortem.

 **Shane** : Uh… yeah. What’s coming up this week, Ryan?

 **Ryan** : Right. Coming up this week, we have a disappearance of a man that… there’s not a lot of evidence to go on, so even though it’s recent, it’s very unlikely it’ll ever be solved. But the circumstances surrounding it are very strange.

 **Shane** : Looking forward to that.

 **Ryan** : Don’t forget to watch the video on Friday, send in your questions and we’ll see you next time.

 **Shane** : Bye!

_Next video: “The Baffling Disappearance of Jimmy Novak.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know, you guys, this just started as me speculating on Twitter how the Buzzfeed Unsolved episodes in the Supernatural universe would be like. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
